1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to lighting, and in particular, to lighting relatively large or distant areas.
2. Problems In The Art
The need for temporary or moveable lighting has been long-standing. Adequate solutions exist for relatively small lighting tasks. Hand-held spotlights, shop lights, tripod-mounted lights, and the like are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle. Larger, temporary lighting applications tend to utilize larger, more high intensity lights. It is generally desirable to elevate such lights as high as possible. Therefore, such lights are either temporarily mounted on existing elevated structures, such as buildings, permanent elevated structures, and the like, or large scaffolds are built to elevate such lights.
Many applications do not have the necessary existing structure upon which to simply mount temporarily lights. Scaffolds or temporary towers are time-consuming and cumbersome to erect and then take down.
Still further, it is simply not practical, and sometimes not feasible, to elevate lights sufficiently to achieve needed temporary lighting. Sometimes the only options are to either accept less than adequate smaller temporary lighting, or utilize very costly alternatives. One such alternative is to utilize large cranes or equipment to elevate lights. The cost of having such equipment dedicated to a temporary lighting purpose is often economically impractical.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,423,471 and 5,207,747, co-owned by the owner of the present application, illustrate high intensity moveable lighting systems. Crane booms are mounted on substantial sized truck beds. The boom elevates an array of lights. While these systems are very flexible and highly moveable, again, they result in dedicated, costly equipment used for such temporary lighting.
A need exists in the art for moveable or temporary lighting for relatively large or distant target areas by light sources that can be elevated to substantial heights. The higher the elevation; the more flexibility with respect to lighting. Furthermore, it is often desirable to elevate lights to substantial heights to eliminate glare from the lights or spill of light outside of the target area. This can be a significant safety issue, for example, for highway construction zones.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which solves or overcomes the problems and deficiencies in the art.
Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention include a method and apparatus for a lighting system which is:
a. Temporary.
b. Moveable.
c. Erectable and disassemble relatively quickly and easily.
d. Provides large, wide and/or distance area lighting.
e. Has a lot of flexibility, allowing selection of a package of lighting features for a variety of lighting applications.
f. Efficient.
g. Economical.
h. Minimizes labor costs.
i. Minimizes labor time for erection and disassembly and transportation.
j. Durable.
k. Integratable with a complete moveable lighting system, including power generation and power control and connections.
l. Uses conventional and readily available components.
m. Does not require dedicated large equipment and machines.
n. Utilizes relatively non-complex structure.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.
The present invention includes lighting apparatus comprising at least one moveable base, at least one pole having a lower end adapted to mount on the base and an upper end adjustable between a retracted position and an extended position of substantial height, and at least one high intensity lighting fixture adapted to mount on the upper end of a pole.
The present invention also includes, in one form, a lighting system comprising a plurality of such moveable bases with a plurality of such poles and a plurality of lighting arrays.
The present invention also includes, in one form, a method of lighting comprising providing a moveable base, lighting array, and extendible pole as previously described that can elevate the lighting fixture to substantial heights but all components can be transported on standard over-the-road tractor-trailer combinations.